Episode 18
Stecchin has noticed that after the mission has finished, there's a tense air around the office, particularly around Oland. She decides to do a song and dance to cheer everyone up and goes to practice it in front of Mercury inside a storeroom. It turns out to be more embarrassing than she thought it would be, and things are made worse by the fact that Oland inadvertently opened the door in the middle of it and heard her. With her first plan failed, Stecchin decides to ask Oreldo for advice because he knows how to enjoy life. Oreldo decides to take Oland to a store that’ll raise his spirits, but when Stecchin figures out what he's referring to, she vehemently opposes it. Stecchin then turns to Martis, who she admires for how well he works by himself. However, she ruins that by accidentally announcing in the cafeteria that Martis is the best masturbate in the Empire. Oreldo decides to confront Oland directly to discuss what is bothering him. Oland admits that there were people he wasn't able to save in the sewers, but this causes Oreldo to angrily ask how many people Oland would need to save for him to consider the mission a success. Before Oland can answer, a member of the 1st Section named Lahn comes over. He belittles Section III's activities. Oreld tries to ignore him by moving to a different table, but Stecchin responds by using her arms like scissor blades around the guy's head. When an angry Lahn looks ready to teach her a lesson, Oreldo steps in and preemptively strikes with a kick. He then takes Stecchin and runs, but she notices that Oland isn't escaping with them. Since Oreldo doubles back and attacks all the guys who have surrounded Oland, Lieutenant Webner starts taking bets for the fight. She happened to be around because she was called up by the head of the 1st Section about the tank incident, though she didn't tell him about Oland taking it on alone. Webner pushes Martis into the fight, but then security arrives to break things up. At the 1st Section, Major Connery is going over Webner's testimony in relation to the waterworks incident with his two subordinates. They note that automatic rifles they seized were of a high quality – ones that they couldn't mass-produce themselves. Connery concludes that these rifles and that tank do indeed connect with what Hunks told him. After the meeting, the two subordinates are going down a hallway talking about the rifles when they pass Alice. Both of them stop to look at her as she walks away, and the one with bandages on his head removes them to reveal that he's the vice-captain whom she had defeated in the previous battle. Meanwhile, Stecchin is helping patch up Oland again when he suddenly starts talking about how he hadn't noticed Oreldo's feelings. He feels really bad that he was so caught up in his own worries that he didn't see how much everyone else was trying to cheer him up. Stecchin attempts to make him feel better by singing a song, but Oland panics when he recognizes it as being from their enemies, the Republic. Stecchin then reveals that she used to be in the military band and has loved to sing since she was young. She loved Republic songs, but she wasn't allowed to study them, so she came over to the Intelligence department. Her point is that everyone is in the 3rd Section for their own reasons, and it is okay for them to think about themselves. She feels that Oland should become the person that satisfies him the most. Although Oland doesn't quite understand what she means, he decides to go apologize to Oreldo and is glad that she sang for him. Oland finds Oreldo outside watching as sewer refugees get on trucks to be shipped off to farms, but before he can apologize, Marielle comes running to meet him. She notices the bruise on Oreldo's cheek and caresses (but that was actually from the cafeteria fight). Before she has to go, Oreldo takes her hand and tells her to live happily with her father. In the end, as he watches the trucks pull away, Oreldo then apologizes to Oland for what he said in the cafeteria. After thinking about it, Oreldo has realized that every person they save is valuable, even if it's just one out of one thousand. Oland, however, asserts that he wants to save them all, and Oreld responds by saying – with a smile – that they'll be getting into a fight soon again. Writing in her journal later, Stecchin notes that Oland has cheered up even though she feels she wasn't able to do anything. Nevertheless, she's happy if everyone's energetic again. Another worrying news befalls them: Alice is getting married! Category:Episodes